Asia Borders

The Times panel of political geographers offered several rules of thumb about what physical features help determine whether a state will work or fail. Among them: * Long, thin states are problematic. "Elongated states run infrastructure risks that more compact states do not have," explained H.J. de Blij of Georgetown University's Foreign Service Institute. Over long distances, highways, air links, social service facilities and other basic needs are costlier and less efficient.

The Times panel of political geographers offered several rules of thumb about what physical features help determine whether a state will work or fail. Among them: * Long, thin states are problematic. "Elongated states run infrastructure risks that more compact states do not have," explained H.J. de Blij of Georgetown University's Foreign Service Institute. Over long distances, highways, air links, social service facilities and other basic needs are costlier and less efficient.

Top security officials of three former Soviet states held an emergency meeting in southern Kyrgyzstan amid reports that at least seven people had been killed in battles with gunmen who swept across Central Asia's borders. A spokesman for the Kyrgyz presidency said the defense, interior and national security ministers of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan were joined by security officials from Tajikistan in Batken, a Kyrgyz town near the three states' borders.

When the Soviet empire broke apart a year ago, one chunk that survived was its indivisible railway network--92,000 miles of track sprawled across two continents. But where did all the railroad cars go? Trains that left Russia to deliver cargo to the newly independent republics started coming back minus some cars. Or with cars noticeably older and rustier. Quickly forming their own rail companies, the breakaway republics started ripping off the newest freight cars, at Russia's expense.

To the cautious relief of their neighbors, nuclear adversaries India and Pakistan agreed last week to new peace talks. They have been down this road before, rarely with success. But another -- and unlikely -- source of good news in the region gives impetus to the India-Pakistan discussions. Afghanistan's new constitution could mean that the country stands a chance of triumphing over South Asia's divisive history -- if durable peace comes to the region.

When a school assignment required students to bring a dish of their family's favorite food to class, John Concordia recalled the teacher's shock at his selection: hamburgers. "This is not your food," he was told. When Concordia jotted "American" in the ethnicity box of a school emergency notification card, a counselor corrected him: "No, you're Filipino." The incidents forced Concordia to realize that society's view of him did not necessarily mirror his own.